U.S. envoy on Monday urged North Korea to demonstrate its commitment to denuclearisation by taking concrete steps to show progress could be made in any talks.
“The U.S. is not interested in talking just for the sake of talking with the North Koreans,” Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. envoy on North Korea, said on a visit to Seoul, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
“We want negotiations that produce a meaningful result, so we will be looking for indications that North Korea shares that desire and that determination,” Mr. Bosworth said.
He made his comments after meeting with South Korea’s nuclear envoy, Wi Sung Lac, while on a diplomatic tour of the region, which is to also take him to Japan and China this week.
Mr. Bosworth said the U.S. looked forward to negotiations that would lead to the resumption of six—nation talks aimed at securing North Korea’s denuclearisation. He said, however, that there was a lot to do before that could happen.
The six—party talks involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia have been stalled since North Korea walked away from them in April 2009 over new UN sanctions.
Mr. Bosworth said the U.S. would maintain sanctions against North Korea while at the same time being open to dialogue with Pyongyang.
North Korea has recently shown signs that it is willing to return to nuclear negotiations.
Relations between the two Koreas took a turn for the worse in March after the sinking of a South Korean warship, which killed 46 sailors. South Korea blamed its Stalinist neighbour for the sinking, a charge the North has denied.
